Chad Ochocinco’s inability to learn the offense a consistent problem

Chad Ochocinco has been released by the Patriots, and in the stories about what went wrong for him in New England, a consistent theme emerges: He simply never learned the playbook.

Whether Ochocinco’s problem was more a matter of being unable or unwilling to do the work necessary to pick up the Patriots’ offense, several reports say that nearly a year after he was traded from Cincinnati to New England, he still didn’t know his assignments, down to his last day with the Patriots.

One league source told the Boston Globe that Ochocinco is still physically capable of playing wide receiver in the NFL, but he continued to struggle with the playbook both before and after new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels arrived.

It’s fair to ask why, if Ochocinco couldn’t grasp the offense in New England, he was able to play well enough in Cincinnati’s offense to have seven 1,000-yard seasons with the Bengals. But there’s word out of Cincinnati that he had those issues there, too: According to Bengals.com, T.J. Houshmandzadeh used to have to tell Ochocinco where to line up. Bengals.com also says some in Cincinnati believe Ochocinco never played as hard again after Browns safety Brian Russell drilled him in the 2006 home opener, although that explanation is a bit hard to swallow, considering that Ochocinco started all 16 games in both 2006 and 2007 and had a career-high 1,440 receiving yards in 2007.

Maybe getting cut by New England will spur Ochocinco to work harder in the classroom if he catches on with another team, or maybe he’ll find a team whose offense is easier for him to grasp than the Patriots’ playbook. But everyone seems to agree that Ochocinco’s biggest problem in New England was simply that he never learned the offense.

90 Responses to “Chad Ochocinco’s inability to learn the offense a consistent problem”

pdxpanther says:Jun 8, 2012 11:47 AM

He’s had this problem dating back to when he played at OSU. He just always had TJ Houshmandzadeh to help him learn the offense both in Corvallis and Cincinnati. SI did a story on him a few years ago and that was brought up.

Jets are a perfect fit. Their playbook is two pages thick. Every route is a 5 yd slant.

theecowardlylion says:Jun 8, 2012 11:53 AM

what offense? NINE ROUTE!! he’s open all damn day. haven’t you heard?

sadskinsfan89 says:Jun 8, 2012 11:54 AM

how can a offensive player jump offsides? if he jumps thats a false start. only way is if he lined up on the neutral zone

Davo says:Jun 8, 2012 11:56 AM

The unfortunate reality for Ochocinco is that very few (if any? Help me name a few?) players have left the Patriots and gone on to have a lot of success with their new teams. And most of those have been players that have turned in good performances with the Patriots!

To play for NE, you have to be smart and in top physical condition. We clearly know which one he isn’t… Those who followed him on Twitter know how much time he spent playing video games and vacationing at his Miami residence. He should give back the $6M NE paid him last year for his 15 catches.

qj1984 says:Jun 8, 2012 11:59 AM

“But there’s word out of Cincinnati that he had those issues there, too: According to Bengals.com. T.J. Houshmandzadeh used to have to tell Ochocinco where to line up.”

That is very telling. And I don’t think its a coincidence that his production started to take a nose dive after Housh left Cinci.

I like Chad a lot and have 3 of his Bengals jerseys under his Johnson surname. It is possible that he suffers from some form of learning disability and that he had been able to disguise it up to this point. Whatever the case, I am rooting for him and I hope he catches on and catches another 1000 yards worth of passes this year.

cuda1234 says:Jun 8, 2012 12:12 PM

He should go play with fellow drama queen Tim Tebow, where all he would have to do is block for Timmy and run the occasional fly pattern.

I think this is overkill. I am not a huge fan of Chad but I am making a fair and bias observation. I think people fail to realize that he had no training camp to learn a complex offense according to Teddy Bruschi and Damien Woody which changes every week so some struggles should have been expected. Maybe he would have been better with a full offseason. This does not mean his career is over as he may sign with another team and might be able to contribute more than 15 receptions given he has a full offseason to learn a new offense.
I find it interesting that profootballtalk is not blasting the Patriots for restructuring Chad’s contract for the 2nd year in a row with this season going from 3 million to 1 million dollars then they release him a few months later. When organizations are allowed to treat players this way, it makes me understand why players holdout for more money when the player has the leverage. Because once the organization gets the leverage, they screw the players every way possible.

He was able to catch on in Cincy, due to help from TJ, and the fact that he always played the X, was never moved around, and in the same offense for several years. He consistently got motion penalties in Cincy too. His best bet would be to hook back up with Bob Bratkowski, since that is the offense he played for so long.

This is why you can take Oakland off the list of suitors. No way Carson would deal with him again.

Put Jacksonville at number one. He’d be a good influence to Justin Blackmon on the field (no one will ever tell you chad didn’t work harder than everyone else) and off the field he doesn’t drink so that might be ok too. He already knows bratkowski’s system (everyone knew his system, thats why it sucked).

Easily the most telling thing about Ocho’s time in New England was the fact that Tiquan Underwood, a mid-season free agent and a “God bless him he tries” type of non-talent picked up the offense in a matter of weeks. Underwood couldn’t catch a ball to save his life, but he ran every route Ocho was supposed to know and was usually his mid-game replacement when they realized that, yet again, Ocho couldn’t run the no-huddle.

Again… baffling.

EJ says:Jun 8, 2012 12:30 PM

Won’t be able to come to Buffalo then, Chan Gailey’s offense is too complex. Ryan Fitzpatrick doesn’t get to hold the ball longer than 3-5 seconds, there are many different screens, tricky runs, play action plays and a lot of precision blocking. Probably too much for OchoCinco to grasp, but I could be wrong, It could be the teacher and not the student of the playbook. Belichick doesn’t seem too approachable, Gailey is easy to get along with.

I don’t understand how you can’t learn the playbook.. I mean I am in no way, shape or form an NFL wide receiver, but if you gave me a month, let alone a year to study and practice the same plays and packages I would grasp and understand them eventually.. How do you go a year in the same system and not understand what to do or where to line up?

pftcensorssuck says:Jun 8, 2012 12:38 PM

The seven million dollar idiot. Huge disappointment to Patriot fans.

Can we get a list of all the other wide receivers who were able to grasp the Patriot’s playbook over the 10 years that Bill Belichick has been there, please?

As for where 85 ends up, one would think the perfect place for him is with the Yets, who have already twice had to “dumb down” their playbook for their franchise quarterback.

higgy1 says:Jun 8, 2012 12:40 PM

But what about that education he earned……. I keep forgetting these are football players, They went to school to play ball. They should be embarrassed. He will join the I am boke club soon

boknowsvt says:Jun 8, 2012 12:43 PM

Davo says:Jun 8, 2012 11:56 AM

The unfortunate reality for Ochocinco is that very few (if any? Help me name a few?) players have left the Patriots and gone on to have a lot of success with their new teams. And most of those have been players that have turned in good performances with the Patriots!
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DAlux, you are clueless. Do you know that Ocho tweeted a picture of a NEP playbook burning and being flushed? Don’t defend this idiot, he sure as hell wouldn’t defend you. Why do people defend these players who wouldn’t give you the time of day if they met you? Root the the uniforms and not the players and it will make your life as a fan much more enjoyable.

After watching Marvin Lewis explain simple banking principles to Ochocinco on Hard Knocks. Along with the utter look of confusion on Chads face during that discussion it’s very plain to see he has a severe learning disability that unfortunately was never addressed during his schooling probably due to the over indulgence athletes receive throughout their academically formative years. It’s unfortunate that he is likely to be broke in five years after his career is over unless he is surrounded by good people who are looking out for him.

PriorKnowledge says:Jun 8, 2012 12:57 PM

Sad that his learning disability will prevent him from using his physical talents. Sort of like the genius computer nerd who was incapable of learning tact or how to act with people, so no one wanted to hire him.

vetdana says:Jun 8, 2012 12:57 PM

“I think people fail to realize that he had no training camp to learn a complex offense “……really ?

……..My Grandfather once said” If one person calls you an a**, you can overlook it, but if three persons call you an a**,… you better go buy yourself a horse “.

On one hand I think it’s a shame that Chad has some apparent learning disability that prevents him from comprehending the X’s and O’s. On the other hand this makes Marvin Lewis look like the better teacher compared to Bill Belichick. Marvin was able to get elite level production out of a damaged goods receiver.

it really does sound like he has some sort of learning disability, hopefully he finds a team willing to help him or he finally admits he needs extra help.. he could just be lazy, but thats not what it sounds like

traveling with extra sneakers or cleats use the Klitch to transport them easily!

cannonballdookie says:Jun 8, 2012 1:06 PM

Davo says: Jun 8, 2012 11:56 AM

The unfortunate reality for Ochocinco is that very few (if any? Help me name a few?) players have left the Patriots and gone on to have a lot of success with their new teams. And most of those have been players that have turned in good performances with the Patriots!
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That probably wont’ apply to him though because he did nothing in New England. Guys like Branch, Givens, Caldwell, etc all made their careers from catching Brady’s passes. Ocho’s career was already well established in Cinci, he just wasn’t a fit in their offense and it took them two years to figure it out.

For a vet who has been in the league for 10 plus years and still can’t learn a playbook, that says a lot about his football IQ. Something’s not right upstairs. It’s a good thing that intellectually-challenged guys like Chad Johnson, Morris Claiborne, and Vince Young had enough physical ability to be in a profession that pays millions, otherwise they’d be on the street or in jail.

Just like Vick in Atlanta, doesn’t want to put the work in after hours to be great. Commenting on his intelligence is fair as he either lacks the capacity to grasp x’s and o’s or he lacks the willingness to go the extra mile.

its not just the x’s and o’s of the NE playbook taht he couldnt understand. They run read and react routes. Basically pre snap Brady and the WR need to make a read and adjust the routes accordingly. Not only was Chad terrible at remembering where to lineup, but he ran bad routes, and never seemed to read the D the way Brady and the other WR’s did.

I definitely think he can still play though. When things were simple for him in this offense (hey chad, go run a 10 yard in) he would still get open.

dirtybird2020 says:Jun 8, 2012 1:19 PM

Bears should pick him up, keep him on a short leash, i actually liked the way he carried himself last year, i think he was just on a team that didnt fit him, and on a team that has been together for years and so far behind the playbook he was the odd man out, he needs a gun slanger like palmer cutler fits that and he will be useful if he can play half of how he played , he would be a force if he fit in with marshall our rookie hester and him, he will come cheap and have little risk, i like chad he played hard in the C

bigbeefyd says:
Jun 8, 2012 1:00 PM
I just hope that, if he does get picked up, the number 85 is already taken. and he has to wear 19 or something. “At wide receiver, Chad UnoNuevo”
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or “10”. uno zero. Which is exactly what he’s become.

Maybe he has a learning disability, but I find it hard to believe that he didn’t know the offense in Cincy.

There’s no way he would’ve had those great seasons there if he weren’t on the same page with Palmer or Kitna.

pftcensorssuck says:Jun 8, 2012 1:26 PM

whodeydaytonchapter says:
On the other hand this makes Marvin Lewis look like the better teacher compared to Bill Belichick. Marvin was able to get elite level production out of a damaged goods receiver.
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Yeah, that Belichick is a complete flop compared to Marvin Lewis.

Since Lewis came to Cincy in 2003, Belichick has been to five Super Bowls, winning THREE, while Lewis can’t get past the first round in three tries.

Pats fans- hindsight is 50-50. Is what is and you only have 923859582 more WR’s to worry about now.

I hope he does well wherever he goes. Dude has never been in trouble with the law, and if you actually follow him on Twitter you’d know he’s a genuine, nice guy. Aside from his poor season in NE, he’s had a solid career and you can’t begrudge a guy for that.

Buffalo, Miami, Carolina, Minnesota. Possibly all 4, 4 games each before being dumped if he keeps up the issues.

bhindenemylines says:Jun 8, 2012 1:39 PM

Davo says:
Jun 8, 2012 11:56 AM
The unfortunate reality for Ochocinco is that very few (if any? Help me name a few?) players have left the Patriots and gone on to have a lot of success with their new teams. And most of those have been players that have turned in good performances with the Patriots!

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Jim Plunkett. Stunk in NE, won 2 SBs in Oakland.

bhindenemylines says:Jun 8, 2012 1:39 PM

Davo says:
Jun 8, 2012 11:56 AM
The unfortunate reality for Ochocinco is that very few (if any? Help me name a few?) players have left the Patriots and gone on to have a lot of success with their new teams. And most of those have been players that have turned in good performances with the Patriots!

Won’t be able to come to Buffalo then, Chan Gailey’s offense is too complex. Ryan Fitzpatrick doesn’t get to hold the ball longer than 3-5 seconds, there are many different screens, tricky runs, play action plays and a lot of precision blocking. Probably too much for OchoCinco to grasp, but I could be wrong, It could be the teacher and not the student of the playbook. Belichick doesn’t seem too approachable, Gailey is easy to get along with.
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I like Chan a lot and agree he seems to be a player’s coach, but IMO you’re way off base with the rest of this. BB ADORES Chad. He loved Moss too. Both those guys were in NE partly BECAUSE BB loved them as people. BB likes some very differing and difficult type people at times. For example, he and Jim Brown are practically BFFs and Jim Brown is a total DB. There’s a reason that even some players he had public/semi public tiffs with eventually come back to considering themselves Patriots (Milloy, Law, etc.). And it ain’t because they’re still paying those guys.

BB can coach any position or scheme out there, and he does, still. Criticizing some of his draft picks/decisions, etc, I get. But the man is a fabulous teacher of all aspects of the game.

Remember what Marvin Lewis said a while before Chad was traded to the Pats? Someone asked him about Chad going to NE and Marvin said BB isn’t that stupid. It still makes me laugh.

Buffalo, Miami, Carolina, Minnesota. Possibly all 4, 4 games each before being dumped if he keeps up the issues.
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Scratch Carolina off your list. If Chad EightFive couldn’t learn the NE playbook, he doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell at learning Rob Chudzinski’s playbook.

Learning disability? Possible, but that’s not a justifiable reason for knowing so little about the playbok nearly a year after getting to NE. Most people with learning disabilities can learn, but in most cases just need more time when taking tests. I worked in the disability services office on campus when I was in college. The vast majority of the students with learning disabilities we helped needed no accommodation other than an hour and a half to take an exam instead of the 45 minutes they get in class.

No offseason? Doesn’t matter. Cam Newton didn’t have one either. Yeah, he had the playbook during most of the lockout, but he mastered the complex offense by putting in very long hours at IMG and in training camp after the lockout. All the idiots that were questioning Cam’s work ethic should have been pointing their questions to Chad EightFive.

The only thing that truly baffles me about this situation is that Florio actually considered Carolina on the list of places EightFive could land.

bhindenemylines says:Jun 8, 2012 3:34 PM

homelanddefense says:
Jun 8, 2012 2:36 PM
bhindenemylines, Im pretty sure Davo meant under the current regime. Plenty of players have left the patriots and been good for another team in the past 50 years.

There have been a few that have done well. Seymour, Samuel, etc. but not many under BB.

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And I’m pretty sure that Davo’s statement did not have any time line qualifiers.

I calls them as I sees them.

jackdaniels1 says:Jun 8, 2012 3:59 PM

Chad you big DUMMY!!

pooflingingmonkey says:Jun 8, 2012 4:18 PM

All I know is that I feel compelled to buy something to tote mah sneakers now???

brownsclown says:Jun 8, 2012 4:19 PM

He’s dumber than a brick!

ilovefoolsball says:Jun 8, 2012 5:15 PM

Ocho Cinco don’t have time for no playbook he’s busy being a twitter/facebook/reality tv star.

Football is just a stepping stone to an illustrious irrelevant career once he’s done with the NFL!

Is it too late for him to join that concussion lawsuit thing to gets some of dem money those people are goin after? He gonna to need it!

bubba9er says:Jun 8, 2012 5:33 PM

I want to know how he has stayed in the league for so long if he is this incompetent. Wouldn’t you love to have a guy with the physical abilities of a WR and the smarts of a Jeff Saturday?

How long do you think an Offensive lineman would last in the league if he didn’t know what his assignments were? He would have been cut in his first training camp. And never would see the inside of a facemask again.

It is not too late…. there is huntington learning academy, there is that lady shrink mind coaching that fictional football character on USA channel, there is another lady shrink from the movie Tin Cup.

Did he not participate in that Dance show, he learned dance moves so he can learn. He really needs to get professional help to find out why he cannot learn from reading books but can learn from being taught by actions and example, monkey see monkey do.

This has been beaten to death, but I agree with everyone who noted Chad almost certainly has a learning disorder. He’s clearly bright- anyone who follows him on twitter know’s he’s not dim by any stretch. Dyslexia?

Ah well, he wasn’t a good match for NE but that doesn’t mean he can’t fit into a more ‘visual’ offense. I wish him the best.

aaaaaahhhhhhh, the Patriot way. Throw a guy you don’t like under the Bus and then come up with the idiotic reason of not learning a playbook as an excuse. I have played football before and was a receiver. Any WR after palying football for a number of years, regardless of the system can easily learn a system……

I don’t think he wanted to be there……I’m glad he is no longer a Patriot and I could care less about him as a player……

aaaaaahhhhhhh, the Patriot way. Throw a guy you don’t like under the Bus and then come up with the idiotic reason of not learning a playbook as an excuse.

You slamming the Pats/ calling them liars?? Belichick loved Chad/ gave him WAY more time than he would have anyone else/ overpaid him!!!

I think ocho is addicted to attention via twitter, facebook, ustream, reality shows, etc. Marvin Lewis scolded him for it during TEAM meetings- more than once!! I think he did that so the whole team would get after him!! TJ whatshisface used to help him know which plays to run in college and Cincy!! Maybe he has too much pride to tell a coach he needs help in learning!! Maybe he lit his playbook on fire and flushed it down the toilet because he couldn’t use it in the traditional way!!

And I like him/ think he’s a RIOT!!

whatswiththehate says:Jun 13, 2012 10:41 AM

Does the Pariots seriously need to put down Ocho to please their media buddies?

Isn’t this the same team that got in trouble for spying on other teams? Trying to elevate themselves to be more than what they are at the expense of Ocho is so sad.

I don’t get why only those in our media are allowed to be egomaniacs who love attention at anyone’s expense.

fsf7 says:Jun 14, 2012 4:02 PM

Davo says:
Jun 8, 2012 11:56 AM
The unfortunate reality for Ochocinco is that very few (if any? Help me name a few?) players have left the Patriots and gone on to have a lot of success with their new teams. And most of those have been players that have turned in good performances with the Patriots!